Incantations
by Starlit Sea
Summary: Mermaid AU. Unlike mermaids, sirens were mischievous and malevolent. Hideous and repulsive in their true nature, the beasts had an enticing voice; many youthful tars have been beguiled and have fallen prey to their faux appearances. But as their heads descended to earn a tender kiss, the bold travellers were already doomed. [Yui x Ruki]
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 l Prologue**

 **ooo**

The ocean was a true gift to the man. Apart from its use as a means of travelling with the purpose of trading products, the sea was admired for its beauty for centuries. The people were enchanted by the alluring sound of waves; as if hypnotised, they built grand ships in order to explore the formidable layers of cobalt, as well as the treasures and secrets hidden underneath. It wasn't long before the tribal legends and myths of strange sea-monsters were confirmed by the many bold sailors.

Fishes with colourful skin danced a seductive waltz along with a handful of attractive females; blooming and fair maids, graced -or, cursed- with the ability to breathe underwater, and below their waist, their tail would sway and thrust waves.

The sailors who encountered them, named them 'mermaids', meaning, maids of the sea. These magnificent women, other than their beauty and charm, were very kind and gentle. If only the crew of the ships weren't afraid of them and didn't harpoon them.

It was said mermaids weren't welcomed because they "brought bad luck". But, no, not the mermaids. These aquatic belles were genuinely benevolent; the ones ought to be feared were the sirens.

Unlike mermaids, sirens were mischievous and malevolent. Hideous and repulsive in their true nature, the beasts had an enticing voice; many youthful tars have been beguiled and have fallen prey to their faux appearances. But as their heads descended to earn a tender kiss, the bold travellers were already doomed.

* * *

A beautiful woman, with hair as yellow as a rebellious ray of sunlight, held her newborn daughter gently in her arms, whose pearly scales of her tail fluttering along with the water surrounding them.

"My baby, my pretty little baby... I hope one day you will forgive us." cried the mother, her husband looking at them from afar, blood dripping from the hole in his chest and flowing around them.

His lashes were stained with tears, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. His wife was stronger; yet, her life was slowly coming to an end.

He extended a trembling hand, a signal to hold his offspring.

The infant opened her eyes, for the first time that night, revealing her father's rosy shade combined with her mother's mauve tone.

Wiping his beloved's tears, he carried the gleaming droplets in the centre of his palm and infused them with his and his wife's blood. As he let the liquid fall, a necklace was created, the tears transforming into crystalline stones.

The parents kissed the crystals, one by one, a word, the child's name to be specific, gradually engraving by itself on top of the glittering stones.

"Aoife. Your name is Aoife." he whispered and shook the necklace in front of the gleeful baby, who left a hearty laugh. He, then, proceeded to latch the medallion around his daughter's fragile neck.

Laying next to her husband, the mermaid continued her lament, the merman placing a kiss on her temples.

"Erelyne, it's time to say goodbye." he instructed, hesitant.

Both of the parents pressed their lips on their child's forehead, another blissful sound escaping the daughter's lips.

"You can take her now." stated firmly the father.

A high-pitched snicker echoed from behind the shadows. Instantly, before them appeared a monster; a siren, Darbevynne was her name. She had a long black tail, blood, their blood, cascading from her sides, while her seaweed tresses were braided and ornamented with fish bones of the dead creatures and shreds of shells.

As soon as her cackling finished, the aquatic beast grinned widely, exposing elongated canine teeth that if it weren't for the flesh and blood that covered them, they were as glittering and sharp as ivory.

"Bring her to me!" she ordered, her face showing a twisted expression.

"What are you going to do to her?" the mother exclaimed in agony for her daughter's dreaded fate, pressing her closer to her bare bosom.

"I'll raise her as if she was my own daughter." she replied and offered a smirk, Erelyne being left appalled and yearned for her beloved to refuse.

His body was getting paler and paler. His once grey tail with the few purple markings was deforming as if he was left on the shore to dry. His sparkling pink irises had become dull and lifeless.

"No, no, no, no, Mershra, no!" she shrieked with all her might, but her love and passion weren't enough to revive him.

One amber eye, the other remaining closed, watched the mermaid mourning for the dead. Accepting it as her chance, the black-tailed siren swam rapidly and stole the now sobbing young mermaid from the tight embrace of her mother, her crystalline necklace falling on the ground.

"No, no, no, no, no!" she continued, her golden locks being grasped violently and removed from their roots, blood gushing out.

* * *

 _ **Years later**_

Although the pristine waters were arguably mesmerising, the tides and water currents are the sirens' den. Only pirates would dare to seek adventure and thrill there, only for them to come across famished beasts.

Underneath the perilous, swirling waters, whirlpools the explorers named them, a dark kingdom was situated. Black and empty, just like the souls that roamed its streets, broken crystals and ship wrecks lied ahead. The odour of death, decay, and rotten corpses flowed along with the half-dead and half-alive beings, either fishes and sirens or others; their bodies were coated with dust and sand, their bones exposed for everyone to see, their legs striding long steps.

Upon a polished and eroded rock, a lithe girl was seated, twirling her platinum curls with her slender fingers, and staring upwards, to the surface.

 _"Oh, ocean will you be my guide_

 _Away from the darkness, to the light_

 _Away from my sisters, I want to swim with the tides_

 _Where the pirates are, there I want to be"_

She sang the sweet melody in a gentle voice, her pearl-white tail fluttering.

"Oi! Yui! What are you doing there?" two screeching screams were heard, the said girl, Yui, recognising them as her sisters'.

"What was that song you were singing?" Belasine wondered curiously, earning a heated glare from the eldest of the three.

"Why? You wanna sing with that imp?" Kermelyne snarled and drew her attention to the second daughter.

"Mother told you to stop singing these songs! Why can't you be a good girl and listen to her for once?" she growled, onyx tresses snapping furiously in sync with her boiling anger.

"I am sorry, please forgive me." the little girl apologised in a low tone, palms folded on her chest and tears already streaming down her chin.

"Stop crying! Why you're always doing that? For others to pity you? As if." she tutted and rolled her eyes.

"Girls!" another voice entered the scene.

Their mother, Darbevynne swayed her way towards them and crossed her arms.

"Girls! What is the meaning of this ruckus?" she grunted, her sole eye examining all three of them.

"Mother, Yui was singing these pirate songs again." whispered the eldest, in case someone heard them.

Amber widened. Her face hardened and turned at her second-born, whose head was hanging low in shame.

"Belasine, Kermelyne, leave this instant. I must talk with your sister privately." she demanded.

"Yes, mother." obeyed in unison and disappeared.

Sitting next to the crying child, the siren wrapped her arms around her trembling body.

"Darling, you know I don't like it when you disobey me. Now, tell me, what did you do." she said softly against her ear.

"I went up. There was a pirate ship, but I made sure no one saw me." the little siren sobbed the information, although it was a lie.

Her mother took a deep breath and continued.

"Are you certain about that?"

"Yes, mother."

"Yui, darling, you need to stop going up to the surface. Firstly, you're not of proper age yet. You're still very young. And secondly..." she shook her head for her child to resume.

"I am an anomaly. Unlike sirens, I am very frail and ugly, thus making it difficult for me to become a true siren." said the girl monotonously and mechanically, as if she was taught to learn her 'poem' by heart.

Frankly, from the moment she was born, Yui knew she was different; her characteristics were lighter, her having blonde hair and a pale complexion, her tail being as white as a flaring pearl with streaks of pink, her enormous, round eyes being a dark lilac-pink. When she saw her eldest sister's expression of disgust, she understood she wasn't pretty and longed for a change.

"Excellent! What you must do in order to resemble your sisters is to overcome these sensitivities. But, don't worry, my baby. Mother will always be there for you to help you."

"I love you mother."

"I love you too, my sweet."

* * *

 _"Oh, ocean will you be my guide_

 _Away from the darkness, to the light_

 _Away from my sisters, I want to swim with the tides_

 _Where the pirates are, there I want to be_

 _I'll scream 'Jo ho! Jo ho!'_

 _I'll become a pirate!_

 _I'll stand still, my chin held high_

 _And proudly I'll scream 'Jo ho! Jo ho! Jo ho!'"_

The crew of the ship sang ecstatically, as the siren swam over the ocean surface to admire their music once again.

It was a different ship, she remarked as soon as she saw the mermaid design on the prow, yet the song was the same as all the previous times. The same rhythm and without the company of instruments. Carefully, she motioned closer, her tail thrusting small waves.

Placing her palms on the wooden material, she pressed her ear against it and paid attention to the lyrics, a smile forming on her face.

But, little did she knew, someone, a little boy, in particular, was watching her. With his mouth gaping in shock, the boy was too enthralled by the peculiar entity to alert the captain, his father. Instead, his greyish-blue eyes scanned her every movement; she was trying to learn the song, he speculated correctly.

As she began singing, the human was sure; he has never heard a voice so sweet and mellow before in his life. He stepped a little closer to the stern to listen better, only for his shoes to generate a light creaking sound against the wooden floor, the mermaid stopping her singing abruptly.

The boy tiptoed to see if she had left, but he met with shimmering pink irises instead. His own pupils widened, the girl repeating the action and was ready to pounce back to the water if it wasn't for him to grip her shoulders.

 _"You can stay. I won't hurt you."_ he promised and he kissed his crossed fingers, the girl tilting her head to her right, not comprehending the gesture.

 _"W-why did you do that?"_ she stammered, the raven-haired boy not understanding immediately what she meant. Seeing his hesitation, the little mermaid showed him and he let a sound of recognition.

 _"Oh, you mean that! It's a sign; when you want to show someone that you'll keep their secret, you do this."_ he explained.

" _Ruki!_ " a feminine voice called, and the boy turned his head behind him.

 _"Urm, my mom it's calling me. I have to go."_ as he was about to leave, the girl grabbed his hand.

 _"I'm Yui. I promise to keep your secret."_ she giggled and did the 'promise sign'.

The boy looked baffled as his cheeks flushed red.

 _"W-What secret?"_

 _"That you talked with a siren, silly!"_ she giggled again and he couldn't help but blush at her adorable laugh.

 _"Um, yeah. And I-I'll keep yours! Bye!"_

 _"Bye!"_

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello! Wow, I am truly astonished by my feat: my obsession with mermaids, from drawing them to learning/writing myths about them, just entered a whole new level ( **i am a freak** )! Anyways, like I said, my reasons behind spending valuable time writing songs about mermaids/sirens/pirates were A. as I said, my obsession with merpeople (so underestimated!) and B. my other obsession with Yui x Ruki (so underestimated too!). I have zero idea when will I update again, but stay tuned nonetheless. **And last but not least** , the pirates' song is written by **me** , and no **you do not** have my permission to use/copy/translate it. It is **mine** , **I** wrote it, and all **its rights belong to me and me only**! I warn you *glares daggers*.

P.S.: Lots of thanks and hugs and love to Ireland! I deeply thank your ancestors for creating a variety of such beautiful, ethereal, unpronounceable names!

Aoife, spelt as EE-FAH, is a feminine, Irish name with Gaelic origins. Its English equivalent name is Eva or/and Eve. It means 'beauty'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 l Vampires**

 **ooo**

Earth. This planet houses small and large civilisations, shimmering oceans and enchanting greenery. Arguably, its inhabitants had every given right to explore its beauties and take advantage of them, either for survival or indulgence. Only a fool would decline and refrain themselves from being attracted to them. Even creatures out of that world were beguiled to have a taste.

The Demon World. Time and space never existed. It was the world where everything was plausible; magical spells, men with pointy teeth, flying beasts that spat fire. The humans -they were either aware of its existence or they were inspired by legends- gave its name, believing all the entities there were the respective demons of their religion.

Vampires, the demons who represented greed and power, were the first who realised how far greater they could become by building connections with unsuspected humans. Nevertheless, business wasn't their only interest; the beating hearts that pump delicious blood where their main temptation.

* * *

 ** _Years later_**

"Hey look over there! A new ship is coming!" a feminine voice exclaimed with excitement, a wide grin of pure mischief appearing on the maiden's deformed features.

The pack of six, famished sirens shared a grotesque, high-pitched laugh and began fluttering furiously their sable-dyed tails towards the leaden surface.

The sky was dark that night. A storm was coming, the humongous and massive clouds covering the moon and the stars in heavy, stout masses. The waves were blackened, as always, yet this time, the waters were serene and calm; without an ounce of suspicion, the Buccaneers of the majestic, cruise ship were celebrating, as the captain ploughed on the sea with no sentiment of fear.

The vessel was astonishingly different from the rest, little, mundane ones; _'Eve'_ was painted delicately in gigantic, amber, cursive letters on the white hull, right below the bow with the pointy end, as gilded attachments of virgin gold were used for the railings, the glittering anchor, and the predatory figure of a bat on the front, vines of verdant leaves with sapphires and rubies accompanying the angry-looking mammal with the furrowed brows.

The malicious wights approached the ship, their bodies dancing on illuminated ripples stemming from the half-hidden moon. Moans and sighs escaped their plagued mouths, pale abdomens thrusting in the air, as they transformed into beautiful mermaids with colourful scales.

The fairest of them all, Kermelynne, whose tresses flowed like burning flames on her shoulders, looked up to the ship's railing, her emerald irises meeting with a mismatched pair of merry, sky blue and vicious red. The blond man smirked towards her, then turning to his left and whistling a tune. Instantly, the intoxicated and lustful gazes of men with rosy cheeks were all concentrated on the blue-tailed mermaid and her sisters with the wistfully gleaming eyes.

"Stay right where you are. We're coming." a hoarse and very masculine voice ordered from the deck, as each, rosy-cheeked sailor bid farewell in the form of a blowing kiss.

"My, my, girl. These ones are certainly going to be some gallants!" commented slyly the eldest female, while the beasts sneered mildly.

The fools. If only they were aware of their true nature. If only they knew what was behind that vicious red eye.

The sinister women grinned, their already iridescent orbs further augmenting their glow. Some licked their lips, ivory teeth grazing red lips, impatient as they were to taste tonight's feast. Their leader hoisted high her chin and dilated her nostrils; their meal indeed smelled delicious.

And one blonde-haired siren, frailer and more fragile-seeming than the rest, observed from afar, her body hidden behind the front of the ship.

Four men occupied the seats of a small boat. The blonde man from before stared seductively at the mermaids, a short dark-haired boy, scars painted all over his face, allowed his upper lip to curl up, a Herculean male with messy hair combed in a ponytail, was in charge of pulling, a crimson liquid dripping from his smirk, and lastly, a tall, slender man, wearing a cape and a pirate's hat, was holding a brightly lit torch, his expression solemn and serious.

Swaying closer to the boat, the redhead lifted her weight and placed her elbows on the edge, right next to the blonde. Her green eyes watched them curiously, waiting for a sign to begin.

"Go on, what are waiting for?" he prompted and shifted, his body fully facing her.

Her eyes gleamed and she smiled charmingly at him, a blush staining her cheeks.

"Why do you want me to sing?" she asked timidly as he stroked her skin with his index.

"I travelled all the seven seas, with the sole purpose of encountering an aquatic beauty. Now, sing for me, my dear fair maid! Sing! And call for your sisters to join your spell!"

 _Don't return to the shore_

 _Don't return to your love_

 _I am the one lass for you_

(The blond presses his palms against hers and draws her nearer)

 _Don't raise your eyes_

 _Don't look up to the skies_

 _The sea's your home now_

(They smile at each other, as she slides her hands to his shoulders)

 _Let the breeze wail_

 _And the waves howl_

 _Let my tender song guide you away, dearest tar_

 _I am your home now_

 _I am your love_

 _Your soul is mine, for life_ *****

"Will you help me, my dearest tar?" she whispered to his ear, as he nodded.

Crimson lips wandered his neck in a brushing and tender manner and ignored the non-existent pulse of the spellbound victim.

"Aye." he responded in a hushed tone and leaned for a kiss.

His eyes sealed closed, thick lashes resting on flushed cheeks, as his head descended closer to the water, until the stern voice of his captain, the man with the torch, snapped him out of his trance.

"Kou." he warned, softly, his steel blue eyes glanced over the scar-faced boy.

Mismatched eyes flashed open, the malice fluttering on his eyelids, making the masked siren to shiver. Roars of hysterical laughter exited his lips and gradually slowed down in an eerie fashion as if the macabre swan song of a downfall is ultimately nigh.

Kermelynne glared swiftly at her sisters, who were as bemused as she was, and they approached the boat in rapid movements, each one choosing a sailor. At the same time, the stranded siren watched with bewilderment the scene.

"Dearest tar, w-what are you doing?" stammered the anxiously grinning girl, a futile effort to cover up her confusion.

"Ah, that was one hell of a laugh. I didn't know you sirens had such a sense of humour!" he remarked dryly, as another howl of cackles followed.

Her ginger brows furrowed and a hiss her lips; just like her sisters, she revealed her true face: ivory cuspids slowly elongating by themselves, their whiteness turning into a rotten, black mass as soon as their peak touched her stained tongue.

Yellow nails penetrated deep within the flesh of his shoulders, the cotton cloth of his vest being ripped to shreds. Yet, the man named Kou continued his frenzy, as his tearful -from the laughter- gaze observed her monstrous features idly, his arm grasping her neck in an incomprehensible speed, fingers digging through the skins. The beast gasped, unable to breathe, as he lifted her body from the water, the brunette man beside him sending one last smirk her way before gripping a nearby dagger with smooth edges and slicing her tail.

"Kermelynne!" her younger sister cried in desperation, and in the abrupt fit of wrath that overwhelmed her, she lunged for the injured sailor, her battle cries only to be ceased and diminishing into inaudible noises, a well-polished and poison-infused knife punctured her chest, its pointy, bloodied peak with the remnants of her blackened heart surfacing through her backside.

The horrified sirens heaved their muffled screams and tried to flee and swim away, only for the remainder seamen to trap them.

The black-haired leader still struggled on the predator's hold, his hand gripping even tighter and breaking her neck to tiny, little pieces of porcelain, as she exposed her fangs in the sudden wave of pain.

"Ooh, those are some very sharp teeth you have there! I wonder if they're sharper than mine, though." he challenged playfully, blonde strands covering and darkening his eyes as long, ivory teeth with keen ends cut his snickering lips, ready to penetrate that wretched neck of hers and devour her blood.

"W-wha-what are you?" she stammered, freezing from fear.

"Vampires." he purred, before grabbing one more silver and venomous blade and slicing her head from the rest of her body, blood and rotten, useless bones spewing everywhere.

* * *

Yui, the frail and fragile-seeming, blonde-haired siren that watched from afar, had frozen in place, mortified as the massacre continued, pink eyes unable to look away. Guilt consumed her for not interjecting and helping her own blood and rather remaining hidden, as fear shook her system at the thought of the men hunting her down later.

The sailors gathered all the scaly corpses until they were all piled up in one separate boat, a hideous stench and a green liquid leaving their bodies. As they were about to exit the scene and abandon the red waters, the blue-eyed captain stood upright abruptly on the edge and slowly, he turned his head to her direction.

Both their lips parted as they narrowed their pupils in order for their eyesight to lean clearly in the respective ways. Whether they were sure or not, boy and girl were now certain it wasn't their imagination playing tricks on them; as some clouds cleared the silver disc, they revealed a full moon, as unbeknownst to the tailed creature, its glowing glory set her alight.

Realisation didn't overwhelm her instantly, but as the clouds returned to their prior position and the tempest roared, faint images of a raven-haired human boy with cold, blue eyes occurred to her mind, and with an abrupt burst, she fluttered her tail and dived back down to her abyssal 'home', paying no mind on the surprised vampire.

Ruki clenched his jaw, his pupils slanting in menace, and as if he were in his own, internal delirium, his body descended to the ocean. Ignoring the flaring protests of his herculean brother, the man's irises flashed a blue glow, the fluttering tail of the girl appearing on the horizon. With a powerful thrust against the water, his limps moved maniacally for his hands to graze those silky, pink fins of hers.

 _'She's way too fast for a siren...'_ he mused and gritted his teeth.

As if sensing him, she turned her head around only to see him approaching closer and closer, her speed accelerating.

More determined than ever, he threw his right arm in a horizontal position, unrolled his palm, as an electric blue streak flowed from his fingertips. That same electric blue streak chased after her, without the beauty to notice, and formed a wall of spikes in front of her, the dead-end taking the shape of a cage.

Only a few millimetres away, the vampire's chest heaved, a series of bubbles escaping his nostrils as his stretched his arm and extended his fingers, catching her tail. Writhing under his grasp, the siren emitted a groan under her sealed mouth, as his fist collided violently with her stomach, Ruki trying to carry them both back on the surface, where the boat with his men awaited him.

"Ruki, what the hell were you thinking?" grumbled the tallest, as he helped his captain to steady himself and the squirming entity.

Before he had a chance to respond properly, the corner of his eye caught his blond sibling holding the blonde, while the younger one aimed his bloodied weapon to her bare bosom.

"Azusa, don't!" he growled, causing the two to glare at him in shock, as grateful pink smiled softly.

"What's with you?" Kou snarled, still holding the girl captive.

"I'll explain later. Now, you must stay away from her." he instructed sharply and directly.

His cold and stern gaze was solely and profoundly concentrated on his beautiful captive, as he sensed his own mind smacking his scalp for calling her something as simple as 'beautiful'. He remarked soundlessly how her gleaming irises stared back at him, a mix of sadness presented in them, just as a lithe specimen of hope. Even if she was masked, a faux veneer of beauty, she was undoubtedly far magnetising than all the previous monsters they had encountered; pink eyes, which possessed the colour and light of the rarest jewel, a slender, aristocratic nose, two pale cheeks, marred rosy from the chilly temperature, and last, but not least, garnet-painted lips, trembling from the cold and at that very moment, his mind smacked him again, a silent chastisement for not removing his coat and covering her.

No. He wouldn't believe it. There's no way someone as fair and beautiful and fragile as her could ever be something as dreadful and abominable and repulsive as... _that_.

* * *

"So, what are you planning on doing with her?" his brunette brother, Yuma, questioned.

"She has something strange on her. She could have attacked me, yet she didn't."

"Will you call for him?" Kou wondered, earning a positive nod from the eldest.

* * *

 **A/N:** Nothing important, just that SCHOOL began, so yeah...

 ***** The song is written by **me** , and no **you do not** have my permission to use/copy/translate it. It is **mine** , **I** wrote it, and all **its rights belong to me and me only**! I warn you *glares daggers*. As I wrote it, I was thinking the melody of "Sky Boat Song " from Outlander, but you're free to imagine the music of the poem as you wish.

 **P.S.:** I'm like Tinkerbell, guys. I need feedback (positive, negative, or simply whatever interest you harbour for me) to live!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 l Daydreams  
**

 **ooo**

Her pale wrist hurt and was burnt red by the tight hold of the handcuff, the spiral metal having been placed firmly on the flaring, golden faucet of the bath. Consumed by dreadful ennui, the girl bit her tongue and tried to move her hand, just a tad, and guide it to pass the porcelain limits, only for the material to sear her skin instead.

Ruki hadn't visited her yet, their late encounter taking place within a murky space, where three smirking men had retrieved her shivering form and had not-so-softly thrown her in her own, private prison -a 'bathtub' as the blond Buccaneer had called it- filled with refreshing seawater.

Lilac-pink irises observed idly her surroundings, eventually focusing on her fish tail; it was very long, longer than the rest of the sirens' and far stronger. Arching her back against the porcelain material, Yui raised her tail, her silky and pearly fins extending in the air, little drops of water falling. Cautiously and with slow movements, the blonde tried -and failed miserably- to descend the lower part of the tail into the water as gracefully as she could muster, only for the cool liquid to burst out.

"What the hell did you do?" a deep voice grumbled, irritated.

Turning her head, she faced the gargantuan, messy-locked vampire and instantly, the small siren longed to go back to her home of shadows.

"I'm sorry." she apologised in a soft and inaudible voice, as she twirled in apprehension her platinum curls.

"Whatever."

And in the same silence, as he had entered, he disappeared. Ready to exhale the breath she was withholding, Yui swallowed it, instead, in the form of a lump, since the man returned, this time holding a metallic bucket of water by each hand.

"Bye." she whispered once he finished, but received no response.

* * *

The vessel certainly wasn't similar to the all the previous ones; under the orders of the Crown, the aristocratic pirates ploughed the raging waters boldly, and as the researchers explored the depths of the ocean, their noble families celebrated on the several ballrooms the ship offered.

Clad in crimson curtains and adorned with a musical stage, the dimly lit ballroom of Gothic architecture and design had opened its gilded gates to the crowd of vampires. The ladies' gowns flowed in the air as their deft partners twirled them throughout the passionate tango. Others had chosen to remain seated on their comfortable tables and either savoured the delicacies or drank the scorching, red beverage within their crystal glass.

As the ensemble of musicians finished their magnificent piece, the audience applauded enthusiastically, as they waited for the following performance.

Kou, his eyes shining with a sky blue malice and his hair slicked back, entered the scene, a mischievous grin plastered on his pale face. Loosening his tie and adjusting the sleeves of his black tuxedo, the maize-haired vampire sent one last smile -towards the ladies, mostly- before he began singing his new song.

His brother watched from afar, casting proud smirk towards the singer and offered him a curt nod.

Lost in his thoughts, Ruki stepped back into the shadows of his bureau, knowing very well his beautiful captive laid in the chamber near him. He was certain that something wasn't right with her, although there was still a chance she kept her ulterior motives a secret.

Yet, he couldn't help but want her to be innocent. And he despised himself for desiring such.

He slouched back in his seat, eyelids sealed close and putting pressure on his lashes. His tendons and muscles felt stiff and numb against the arms of the chair, as he groaned light moans and exhaled heavy breaths, only by imagining the picture of the bewitching maiden.

 _"Let the breeze wail_

 _And the waves howl"_

His ears perked at the sound of her voice and he emitted another groan, as his eyes fogged with the faint silhouette of the girl coming from a silver mist of fairy dust. The illusion swayed her way to him in a powder-white dress, her tail being replaced by a pair of fair, slender legs. Her steps were so light they were almost nonexistent; then again, she was never even there in the first place. He had his arms spread, welcoming her into his embrace, as she sat in his lap, the muscles of his thighs stiffening at the meagre weight. She leaned on his abdomen and nuzzled her head on his chest, while her fingers explored and unfastened his shirt. Ruki's breath hitched as he sensed her lithe fingertips, smooth and soft against his cool flesh. His palms cradled the back of her scalp, silken threads of platinum flowing between his fingers like the soothing waters of a creek.

The door of his cabin opened, but the vampire paid no mind.

Ruki moved one hand below her bottom and hoisted the dainty entity in an upright position. The illusion rested her milky arms around his shoulders and she felt they boy twitch beneath her touch. Her red lips, the only dark trait of her portrait, moulded into a smile and she descended her head to his neck, pressing kisses to his skin. He pulled her closer, almost in a forceful manner, and allowed her to continue kissing him, her lips leaving smears of garnet behind that mixed with his sweat.

No! This couldn't be happening! This couldn't be happening to him... She-she can't be! She shouldn't be having this effect on him! She-she shouldn't...

"Ruki?" called a timid voice and awoke him from his trance.

He could distinguish the frail physique of the young Azusa, yet his mind remained clouded by the thick fog of fairy dust, whilst her incantation still rung in his ears. He attempted to move but found his scalp throbbing painfully, as the rest of his body felt numb.

 _'What is happening to me?!'_

"Ruki?" echoed again his brother, tilting his head in confusion.

"Y-Yes, what is it, Azusa?" he stuttered, unable to form words with clarity.

"Have you finished with...the letter?"

"Y-Ye. I am coming with you." he ordered firmly and rose from his seat.

* * *

 _ **Demon World, Vampire Realm**_

It was nighttime when the letter entered the World. Darkness was lit by the mystique blue glow coming from the Full Moon and the hordes of stars and constellations. Behind the vampiric towns and picturesque villages, a Gothic castle was standing solely on top of a grassy hill. Lights were evident from the opened windows and the laughter brought life to the dark and soulless château.

A ball was held in one of the many opulent chambers the castle housed; after all, the elite. Fair cheeks were painted rosy, as the gentlemen twirled their dames.

The king hadn't abandoned his golden throne throughout the whole evening. He opted to observe how his second-born was conversing with the socialite, the eldest and the youngest's absence -not that he had been expecting anything else from the two- the duo of redheads flirting madly with the beauties, their lavender-haired triplet having distanced himself as well.

With a breath of frustration, the corner of his amber pupils caught sight of his most beloved wife, Christa, who was also his cousin. The beauty didn't seem to have noticed him admiring her; her white tresses were pinned with red roses at the crown of her head, her loose curls flowing below her backside, as her ruby irises sparkled miraculously.

"My dearest Christa... your beauty never ceases to wonder me! Have I commented on how enchanting you look on this lovely night?" he sang, the woman flushing, but showing him a smile nonetheless.

"Yes, indeed you have, my dear Karl. But, I am glad my beauty is providing you entertainment. I must say, as well, you look magnificent Karl, as always." she complimented, her pale cheeks turning a bright, rosy hue.

As the couple continued flattering each other, whispering sweet and soothing words, a manservant appeared next to the king's throne and cleared his throat.

"Yes, Bartok?" greeted Karlheinz, as he tilted his head to the butler.

"My Lord, there is a letter addressed to you. It is from Master Ruki, My Lord." the butler handed the letter and bowed.

The married duo widened their eyes as the woman encouraged her husband to read it swiftly.

The piece of paper fell on the floors with the chess motif. He turned to his wife who waited impatiently to learn what has happened.

"Karl, is everything alright, my love? Ruki and the boys are all okay, right?" whether they were blood-related or not, the ruby-eyed vampire was still concerned about all of her sons.

"Yes, no need worry, dearest! But, I may have to do a little trip over the Equator."

 _ **Months Later**_

"But there's no need for you-"

"I am afraid Mistress Yui, I am wholly obligated to the Crown and the young Masters for your safety and your satisfaction for as long as you are roaming the premises of this palace."

"But-" Yui was about to object again, but water forced her to keep her mouth shut, as she sank deeper into the bathtub filled with the liquid and soap.

Pouting, the blonde crossed her arms over her bosom, as she chose to draw her attention to her legs.

Ruki and his crew had shown her to a strange, jaunty man, Karlheinz his name, and he had taken there to his castle, in a place called Demon World.

There, the man had her chained in her prison one more time, while he tortured and examined her, in order to _'find out what you are, sweetheart'_ as he had said.

A mermaid. That's what she was; a mermaid, a creature she had never heard of since her mother and sisters had kept it a secret. Frankly, she learned that her blood wasn't venomous like a siren's, and it was rather sweet and could be used as a medicine to heal even fatal wounds. Her tears, they said, could heal too, and after some time, they would turn into glimmering crystals.

Karlheinz wanted to keep her to himself; so he gave her legs.

She missed her fishtail. Oh, how it would flutter and fuel waves that would reach the Heavens.

Her legs were 'lame', as commoners described. She was never the patient one -was that a mermaid trait?- yet, she has been making a progress with walking and trying to act 'lady-like'.

"Mistress Yui, it is time to prepare yourself for Master Ruki's arrival." her maid, Rhea, informed in her usual monotone voice.

* * *

The grotesque castle stood tall and proud on top of the mountain with the vivid greenery. The darkness it captured, was in contrast with the clear, turquoise skies and the cornucopia of colourful and blithesome blossoms that thrived in the gardens of the palace. But, unlike its usual façade of gruesome gargoyles, it was garnished with blooming lotus flowers and crimson ribbons of gilded threads that flowed in harmony with the cool breeze.

Yui had observed the arrival of the prince by the window of her private chamber, as she was instructed to remain locked in there unless someone called her.

Yet, no one did. Ruki didn't even think to grace her with his expressionless posture and cold gaze.

* * *

With his father's orders, the half-blood resided still in the mansion, his mind trapped in thoughts of his mission and a certain mermaid.

Not too long ago, he and his men had encountered a pack of famished, those pretty things remaining hid under the shadows. Although they had succeeded to capture the majority of them, Ruki was attacked by a thirsty siren. Under any other circumstances, he would have been capable of treating his wounds on his own.

But, sirens are poisonous wights, as their veins bear rotten blood, casting them thus a primal danger for a powerful creature such as vampires.

He had contacted the King, who had explained firmly in his letter he would be anticipating his son dearly. The two preserved communication in order for the young prince to acquire information on _"his little maiden of the waters"_ as his father described often.

The vampire clutched his wounded abdomen in one swift motion, his mouth emitting a soft, groaning sound, as his trembling hands scattered in frustration the papers on his bureau, creating a mess on top of the mahogany. His lashes were forced shut in pain, as the aching scars crawled in a fervent manner all the way up his spine, meeting with the searing marks of his past.

And there was he, all alone and waiting for the young girl to treat his injuries with those precious crystals her eyes harboured within their lilac depths. His nostrils dilated in synchronisation with his pupils, as Ruki sensed her presence to be nigh. His breath became a lump in his throat he knew he had to swallow back, as soon as Yui's pale knuckles had collided with his door.

His eyebrows knitted and his lips curled into a grimace. As if a sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through him, the half-blood wasted no time and invited his guest into his private chamber, his voice unintentionally turning huskier, "Come in".

Although she had met with his muscular, rear profile, and his steel blue irises scanned the smouldering skies that melted into mauve, his attention was solely concentrated on the hushed clatter of her heels and the uncertainty her heartbeat was laced with.

"Ruki?" her sweet voice called, the mellow notes conjuring up images from that dream he had.

"Come here" he beckoned with a tilt of his head and continued, "with such a sky outside, how could I not permit myself to remark its beauty? Besides, you accompanying me would be an extra benefit."

Timidly, she motioned to the space near him and stood by the balcony's shutters to admire the nature's beauty.

From the corners of his eyes, the prince observed the ethereal figure of the maiden; her milky arms were crossed on the plump skirt of her violet gown, her frail hands holding a bowl of clay and a roll of bandages respectively. As she shifted her stance, he caught glimpse of a glimmering vial hanging from a silver chain in between the smooth groove of her blooming breasts.

"Shall we, um, begin?" she stammered, not looking at him directly.

"Whenever you're ready." he complied and with a nod of her head, he waved his palm towards his bed.

After placing an antique chair near his bedside as her seat, Ruki mounted the mattress and lied down in a horizontal position.

Soundlessly, he watched as she removed the necklace from her neck and filled the bowl with the crystalline liquid the glass vial protected within its contents.

 _'Her tears.'_ he thought correctly and proceeded to unbutton his shirt as he saw Yui creating a pearly substance with the circling movements of her fingers.

From the moment she had entered his room, she hadn't spared him a single look. In other cases, he would have her imprisoned and tortured; anyone who behaved so insolent only dared to question his authority! Yet, the decorated sailor had acknowledged her disrespect as the mere consequence of his own misbehaviour.

But he would die if she wouldn't give him a chance to see her eyes again. Her eyes. Her iridescent, gorgeous eyes.

Ruki inhaled deeply as similar dreams to the one he had on the ship that night threatened to engulf him.

"Oh my, Ruki, are you alright?" she exclaimed, cupping her garnet lips with her white palm.

"Wha-what do you mean?" he whispered, his pupils widening under his descending lashes.

"You're red! And you're... sweating? Are you alright?" she urged and moved to offer him the mirror from his nightstand.

And did his cheeks resemble his brother's flaming mane! What's more, his raven strands were attached to his forehead and neck due to how clammy -amongst conflicted and pressured- the girl made him feel.

"No need worry, Yui. Now, why don't we resume our session?" he reassured her, nodding his head in a dismissing manner.

Silence reigned the room and the vampire couldn't bear the pain of his injuries that slowly healed and the uncontrollable heat he sensed rising up in his body as the girl stroked with the substance the bleeding scars.

"Why did you ask for me? You could have a maid to do this." she muttered through softly gritted lips and he let out a chuckle.

"None of these dry, humourless women have a chance against you. You're my most preferred option when it comes to healing." he retorted in a suave fashion that reminded her of Laito.

And good Gracious, his demeanour seemed to fuel her fury! Her lips had been pressed tightly and pink flames appeared in her eyes, dancing madly and burning his soul with their passion. She bit her lower lip, his cold gaze drawing their attention to its full centre her seductive action emphasised.

Her fingertips traced his wounds with her magical tears and then approached the bandages, only for the curve of his brow to furrow in a straight line and his hand to force the linen away.

"Hey, why did you- Ah!" her gasp was muffled as her patient gripped her hips and placed her on his mattress with an evident 'thud'.

As she was about to protest again, Yui felt greatly intimidated by his predatory gaze and silenced willingly, wishing slightly to sink deeper into the plump bed. His eyes examined her face and twirled behind her ear stray, platinum curls. He then caressed her lips with the edge of his thumb and the corners of his mouth curled triumphantly when he saw the red dust on her cheeks. He studied further down; her neck resembled a swan's, long and delicate. His expression softened as his palm exposed her shoulders; flawless, porcelain flesh laid beneath him, utterly unharmed and unbelievably pure. He leaned into her collarbone and smiled widely at her scent; she was bathed in rose water.

"Please, sing something for me..." he whispered into her ear and pressed his lips to her neck.

" _Ho! mo nigh'n dubh_

 _He! mo nigh'n dubh_

 _Mo nighean dubh_

 _'S tu mo chuachag_

 _Caidil a luaidh_

 _Fo chobhair nan stuadh_

 _Air bodha na suain_

 _'S do bhruadar 's a' cheòban_

 _Caidil a ghraidh_

 _O caidil mu thràth_

 _Is t'athair air bhàigh_

 _Is fadal mo phòig air_

 _Eala rid' thaobh_

 _Is roin os do chionn_

 _Lacha Mhoire 's a' chaol_

 _'S cha'n fhaobar bhrònag"_ *****

Her melodious serenades always pressed to stain his eyelids with tears; her voice was sweet, neither very high-pitched nor of a contralto's, and she perfected the correct pronunciation of words -Old English wasn't so simple, he knew, he had been studying them for years- and she was careful with her tone, so as to match with the song's hypnotising leitmotif.

Everything in her resembled a mermaid; her enchanting beauty, her bewitching incantations, her kindness and gentleness. It was as clear as the waters he had travelled.

"I was assigned a mission related to my extraordinary finding. You. Even though I want you with me, I cannot force you to follow. I want you to be safe, Yui." he breathed and allowed his head to lie on the pillow they shared and his forehead to touch hers.

"Take me with you... I want to help you and your brothers... Please, Ruki!"

"I can't do that. If you get hurt, then, I-I don't know..."

"Please, Ruki..." begged the girl one more time.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do..." he complied; and how could he not? Who was he to refuse to succumb to those doe eyes of adoration and those smiling, red lips?

* * *

 **Α/Ν: Hey... I honestly have no idea why I took so long to update, as I had already composed the chapter, and it only needed a few -a lot of- changes... But who cares! So, this is a combination of computer writing and me trying the mobile app...yeah...thumbs up for me...I beg you...#4themerpeople  
**

 **Lots of hugs to Irish people; you are graced with a wonderful mythology and language, so as a person who adores culture and civilisation, I advise you to not let Gaelic descend to lethargy!**

 ***The Mermaid's Croon [Crònan An Maighdinn - Mhara]:** Translation from Gaelic:

 _"Sleep beneath_

 _The foam o' the waves_

 _On reefs of sleep_

 _Dreaming in dew mist._

 _Thy seabed_

 _The seals o'er head_

 _From reivers dread_

 _Securely guarding_

 _While I croon,_

 _White swan of the moon,_

 _Wild duck of the sound,_

 _By thee are resting"_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 l Hate  
**

 **ooo**

 _Stronger than lovers' love is lovers' hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make."_

 _\- Euripides, Medea_

 **ooo**

Months flew by, like seagulls when threatened by Yuma and a dagger with lethal edges.

A dreadfully crepuscular sky laid above them, the purple, glimmering galaxy, in his usual form of a fairy mist, was painted by a skilful hand and sparkled with hordes of silver lights. The moon, in his most magnificent and deferential stage, was hoisted with pride and glowed its mesmerising shafts of mystical blue and imposing amber. Never before in her life, had this lithe girl ever witnessed such a magical full moon.

Ruki had succeeded in persuading the King to permit Yui's stay on the vessel, and everything was flowing smoothly since then. She was though mildly stupified and scared at the sight of salacious pirates that had whistled suggestively her way on the day of her arrival, only for their fearful captain to punish them later for indecent behaviour towards a young damsel.

Yet, this young damsel had her freedom taken away from her once again, as under his orders she was told to remain locked in the captain's private chamber, _"the deck is not an appropriate place for virgin, little girls"_ one of them had snickered, Yuma his name.

The rupture between her and the half-blood prince remained wide, nonetheless. He often ordered her to croon for him, dedicate all her incantations to him; this had confounded her at first, but she had complied in the end. She thought that perhaps she was quick to judge him, as Ruki would later treat her kindly and would gently beckon for her to approach him and nestle together in their bed. He would whisper her sweet poems and would press his lips upon her roseate cheeks. And with a content smile, she would give into lethargy, only to be woken up by the harsh noise of a door being locked. And then, he would avoid her as the tone of his voice would become cold. And how her heart would crack and crack, causing the vial of a sparkling, teal liquid that was an offer from the King on her bosom to jump, startled by the skipping beats. She had attempted many nights to console herself, yet she always reached the same conclusion: he only treasured her for her tears and her voice; she deemed her beguiling serenades were the reason behind the swings in his demeanour, the reason behind his loving caresses.

Her palms were pressed against the glass of the balcony's door as her breath collided with the transparent surface, forming moisture. Her presence, as ethereal and mesmerising as that same light, was being secretly admired by a silhouette swallowed by the shadows, only a pair of cold, blue eyes evident in the darkness that gazed at her with feral intensity.

The hinges of the door clicked shut, as his boots creaked loudly with each slow step he took. His figure entered the alight area, just beside her, yet the girl didn't seem to have acknowledged him. He removed the gloves from his hands and let them fall to the ground as he pounced on her from behind.

Yui exclaimed a cry of surprise, fear rising within her, as a cool hand touched her neck and parted her hair on the other side.

"R-Ruki?" whispered she, as his reflection appeared on the glass, a dazed expression on his face.

Steel blue examined meticulously her flesh, pure white and paler than the moon. His chin descended, his dilating nostrils tickling the sensitive skin with each breath he haled and blew. His hand ascended to the soft fabric of her dress' strap and forcefully gripped it lower, another cry leaving the girl's red lips.

"Wh-what do you want?" she stammered, as his other hand wandered her stomach and pressed her against his own body.

"You are mine. I won't allow anyone else be close to you." he declared _sotto voce_ , his lips kissing her exposed shoulder.

"Ruki what are- Ah!" his cuspids punctured deep within her veins, sucking her blood with massive gulps in order to stem the thirst of his dry throat. His tongue poked between his teeth and licked the holes he pierced, while his hand travelled upwards to her diaphragm and kept pulling her body against his.

He licked the wound one last time, Yui feeling his lashes caressing her neck softly, then the vampire shifted to place tender kisses.

Courage rose within her and she stomped her heel on his foot with great strength, effectively making the vampire emit a cry of pain, then letting her go. His eyes slanted, his glare perilous and menacing but the girl remained unaffected, her chest heaving rapidly and her shoulder bleeding uncontrollably. In return, she knitted her brows, the once curvy blonde, lines turning deadly straight, as she clenched her jaw tightly, her hand pressing on the aching area.

"I'm so sick of you... I'm so sick of all of you! I'm chained here, doing nothing! I'm so sick and tired of everything!" she exclaimed, the lilac of her pupils turning venomous and monopolising the sweeter, rosy hue.

"You asked to come with us! If anything, you should be-"

"I know, it's all my fault! And to think I only wanted to get to know you! Perhaps even forgive you!" she huffed, hot tears burning her cheeks, making them look a feverish shade of red. Her white knuckles wiped them away and cradled the precious crystals within her palm. She shook her clenched fist and when she sensed the liquid becoming creamy. Afterwards, she applied it to the wounded flesh and drew soft, circling patterns.

"Forgive me?" he sneered, the grimace on his attractive face coveying a dreadful disgust with a drop of mirth towards her displeasure. "Have you seen the sky outside? Have you seen the moon?" he grasped her wrist with one hand, forcefully making her collide with his abdomen, while the other pointed skywards, to the moon and stars she was admiring earlier.

"Don't tou-" she attempted to protest in the name of her wrist but the blood-thirsty vampire wouldn't listen.

"The full moon... Don't you think it's lovely tonight, Yui? Doesn't it captivate you? I bet you have seen many other moons like these. Do you think it's mundane, then? Horrible even?" his nails pierced her chin and guided her face to the window.

The wind outside wasn't a light, summer breeze; its coolness howled and bellowed, it whistled names and words and phrases. The sea witches beneath them were having a party it seemed, down below the black depths of the raging ocean.

He pressed her scalp to the glass, forcing her to look at the sky, whilst his hand was preoccupied with unlocking the glass shutters. As the burst open, Yui fell forward, scraping her knees in the process.

The underwater incantations rose in volume and resembled the eerie psalms of Catholic priests, the very same chants that the raven-haired man was so accustomed to listening as a young cherub.

Clouds, huge and grey and leaden bedimmed the purple galaxy yet the luminous disc remained proud and unperturbed by the pouring rain. The once tranquil waters, or as calm they could have been during the night, were now wrathful with their presence. The waves were rising and rising until their coolness had either brushed the metal of their vessel or contacted with the whistling wind or had splayed on the poor girl's frail shoulders.

Ruki stood dazed above her shivering form, his fist curled tightly as the tail of his cobalt coat floated behind him. He gazed at her with angry, slanted pupils that were demi-shadowed by his dark strands. Beneath him, although she shook and trembled and her skin had turned a sickly pale blue tone and was sprawled on the balcony's floor in a seemingly pathetic position, as if she was a beggar pleading to be shown mercy, Yui's eyes held an unyielding, iridescent pink colour that remained rooted to their fury.

In the meantime, the ship was being abused by the fierce ocean. The young tars and mates that were either celebrating or indulging in the night's pleasure at the time, had all been forced out of their rooms in order to dust off their sorcery and spells and 'unfurl' the vessel's imaginary sails -vampires were quite the intellectual beings contrary to humans and had pioneered significantly in the field of science by choosing to exploit magic and not utilise any earthen sources. Investing trust on his instinct, Yuma, the Captain's Fists Mate cursed his exit out of his chamber with drops of golden ale hanging from his lips and prepared himself into navigating _'Eve'_ through the darkness and the raging waves. No human with a healthy mind would dare to plough throughout such a storm.

Back to the Captain's balcony, Ruki's boots generated a sinister, creaking sound against the polished wood as he approached closer. In the blink of an eye, he had hoisted her lithe body with his hands gripping her bare shoulders and pressed her on the oak railing with the carvings of plump putti.

"Say, the moon likes playing with us as if we were the mere pawns of its sick game", his voice was unnaturally calm, "wouldn't you agree, Yui? It arises the beast inside me and I desire nothing but to rip your flesh and devour you", his face was perilously close to hers, his eyes searching for a reaction,"what does the moon do to you, Yui?"

"I hate you..."

"Now, now little girl...", he chuckled humourlessly,"do you hate for what I've done to your so-called family? Admit it; your 'sisters' deserved every bit of it. Or, is it that you hate what I am now?", he snickered dryly, "please, Yui, don't tell me you thought I would stay the same little, human boy, you had met back then!"

"And why's that?" she arched a brow as her cheeks reddened slightly when she caught his eyes studying salaciously her lips as they uttered her question. "What made you change?"

Her voice was melodious, so soft and kind as if he was hearkening to the pristine waters of a cascade that streamed down a river during spring. She herself was quite the delicate sprite, a heavenly spirit that danced along with the waves and sang with the water nymphs, the naive Psyche and her hypnotising chirp only managed to challenge him rather than calm him with her soothing music.

"You've seen them, humans I mean..." he pressed his knees against the railing due to his heavy, shaking knees. It wasn't a commodity for him, or for anyone of his species, to appear so vulnerable in front of the already meek. Yet, her innocent, pinkish jewels compelled him to reach his lowest. "You were lucky, for the sirens had kept you hidden away from all the prying eyes. You may hate it now, but you were safe from all those earthlings. Their happiness, or most precisely, what you interpreted as such, was satisfied with sadistic acts, treacherous crimes..." he drawled. "There was nothing I could do back then; until I met him, Karlheinz. He offered me the opportunity of rebirth and as a vampire, I am now capable of seeking revenge."

"He's horrible... He didn't even listen to me, never asked for permission to turn me into... into this! So cruel and ruthless... I suppose is what these humans say, _"like father like son"_. You're no better than him. What did my sisters ever do to you?! What did I ever do to you?!"

"Cruel? For slaying those monsters you called family? You were there, you could have saved them. Admit it, you know they deserved every last bit of it. At last, the two of us have something alike."

"How dare you... You monster! Have you no soul?! I would've done anything for them! You... bastard, if only my mother-"

"You mother what? If she had been there?" his eyelids slanted and his brows furrowed, his mouth emitting a hearty laugh, "what will come forth? That she loved you? Do you even know what love is, little girl?"

"She cared about me..." a futile attempt to reassure herself of her mother's love. He snickered in response and grasped the porcelain column of her neck.

"She wanted to turn into one of her grotesque kind. You were an experiment and-"

"And that's anything I'll ever be..." she muttered, inaudibly.

"What did you say?"

"I said, that's anything I'll ever be! Look at me! I'm in no different position than before! My mother hated me, your father wants me for his sick plans and you, the only person I thought I could trust, is a mindless monster who obeys his father's orders!"

"Yui, be careful-" he warned through gritted teeth, a curtain of raven strands that were littered with shimmering droplets of the tempest darkening his face with menacing shadows

"Don't tell me what to do, Ruki! You're so wrong, the two of us have nothing alike! My mother hid my identity from me and perhaps she despised me, but I had freedom. You said I don't know what love is but Ruki, do _you_ know what freedom is?"

Darkness still dominated the sharp edges of his face, the only gleam stemming from the blue of his irises. His chin descended and he removed himself from her, taking a step backwards.

It was eerie scene; should it was an act of a play, the audience would have exited the theatre at the single peek of Ruki's murderous costume. He stood with his fists clenched so tight his knuckles had turned chalk-white, his cobalt coat laying on the floor. The rain cascaded like a waterfall down his head, the black hair sticking to his face like a second skin. The water streamed and streamed with no remorse and with deadly slow movements his head arched upwards to meet her fierce gaze.

His jaw was clenched as well, the tendons on his throat popping along with his veins; he was like a bull being mocked by the torero's scarlet flag. He approached her, the terror rising but her face daren't admit it. She too was tormented by the heavy rainstorm, grey drops flowing down her cheeks and mingling with her platinum threads. Her brows were a straight line, her lips mirroring their wrath as she stared intensely at him.

"How careless of you... Fool... speaking such naive words when you have no idea... You know nothing!", his hand found her neck and grasped the skin tightly, searing it, "You hear me? You know nothing!"

"Then teach me!", her voice was only a muffled and pained echo in contrast to the roar of the skies, "Show me! Show me what I don't know! That's all I ever wanted from you, Ruki!" cried she, whilst trying to break free from his hand.

Yui fell to the floor with deafening 'thud'. With her trembling limbs supporting the rest of her body, she breathed rapidly and loudly, trying to regain her strength until she finally decided to look at him. Fresh tears leapt out of her eyes and staining her lashes, yet by the moment she arched her head, Ruki was already gone. Standing by the door and wearing a dry seat of clothing, the Captain conversed with a certain, maize-haired vampire. The girl crawled near the balcony's glass doors and attempted to distinguish their expressions through the dim lighting of the room, but instead received nothing but the chamber's door sealing shut.

The waters seemed to have ceased their earlier ferocity by that time and the wind had turned into a light, cool breeze. She collected the cobalt coat and wet as it was, she decorated her shivering form with it.

* * *

Yui hadn't seen Ruki for days; after the tempestuous evening nights before, she didn't bear the courage to look at him again with a straight face.

Thus, in order to turn her loneliness into a merry solitude, she had busied herself with the books within Ruki's private library. Oh, the treasures it held: of determined knights whose armours were decorated with emblems of hardihood ***** , of mourning kings that desired immortality ***** and of intelligent travellers that had braved the seas to return to their homeland *****.

No one bothered her there and she felt safe, although a tad lonely, inside her haven. It was an enormous room with polished, mahogany floors shrouded with crimson carpets and ebony-framed shelves with luride writings of Greek philosophers, works of art as ancient as the epic of Gilgamesh and yellowed treatises of laureate scholars. She discovered books, records of the very first beings that had walked the Underworld as well as all the diverse species that roamed the nether lands and the human realm.

Mermaids, she learned, were products of the innocent affair between the King of the Serpents, Marco and the most powerful Sea-Witch, Toraya. They were two mighty rulers, the greatest Royals of yore and they found themselves entangled in a fairy-like love that was pure and true. The two had two daughters of magnificent beauty, Alloria and Rayanna. They were endowed with the fairiest faces, the hypnotising glow of their father's that tested the morals of men. From their mother, the maidens had inherited her beguiling chanting and youthful physiques.

They lived near the shore and dwelled their daydream in peace. Yet, it wouldn't last forever, as a war sparked in the Human World and the demons were called to partake. The Wolves had decided instead of fighting on their own as they used to, they had allied with the Hawks, the two realms against Queen Petra's Vampires and King Giesbach's Founders. King Marco's people quickly found themselves separated, as a part wanted to remain uninvolved, whilst the other chased after bloody battles. As the dilemma continued, the King feared for the safety of his family; so, he sent them to live beneath the sea where nothing could ever hurt them.

Two kingdoms revolted at the time. The peoples slew their rulers, King Marco of the Serpents and Queen Petra of the Vampires. The first assassination was committed by his once trusted Council; they knew he didn't want the war, even though it would benefit them. The second was underlaid - rumour has it- by the Queen's son, Karlheinz who had secretly allied with the Demon Lord, ruler of all, whose eldest daughter he had wedded, and the Founder's princes, Carla and Shin.

Toraya, after casting a spell on her daughters, ensuring their security, she travelled the ocean until she reached her birthplace, Mesopotamia ***** , where all her magic stemmed from. She invested all her strength and predicted her beloved's fate before it was sealed. She mourned by screaming, the waters trembling and carrying her cries, the tears falling in dangerous amounts, the sea level rising, as vicious and humongous waves, tsunamis were generated. They say, her howls had also caused horrifying earthquakes, the loss of inhabited lands following soon after. Some believe that the temple above her had shaken and fell and met her body, crashing her, but not killing her entirely; Sea-Witches can't die, their soul is immortal, but their bodies turn to foam.

The daughters never saw their mother again. They could only hear her voice as she crooned for them. Their mother's mother, Olea, raised them instead under the sea, away from the shore, somewhere deep in the ocean where pirate ships don't sink. And as there were no ships to be sunk, there were no sirens, the horrendous children of the Gorgons.

Alloria and Rayanna grew into two beautiful and remarkable maidens. As the years went by, their species, the Mermaids grew as well. They were wondrous entities, their charismatic beauty being envied by many other beings underwater. Although they were the most innocent of all, mermaids were intelligent and wise, as most of them had inherited their magical abilities from their mother, Toraya, whom they worshiped as a Goddess for she was the first to give birth to the mermaid kind. Her daughters were crowned Queens and they ruled together their kingdom for years. They were unbreakable and always remained by each other's side. Until tragedy stroke. Alloria had-

"Miss Yui?"

Yui let out a loud gasp as the short, dark-haired intruder called her name. She was so entranced by the story that she didn't hear Azusa walk in.

"Yes, um, Azusa? Is everything alright?"

"Come with me... Ruki wishes your presence."

* * *

 **A/N: Gosh. I did it. Please, congratulate me for finally updating. Also, anyone interested in a fanart collaboration with me?  
**

 **of determined knights whose armours were decorated with emblems of hardihood: Reference to the Redcross Knight from Edmund Spencer's The Faerie Queene.**

 **of mourning kings that desired immortality: Reference to King Admetus from Euripides' Alcestis.**

 **intelligent travellers that had braved the seas to return to their homeland: Reference to Odysseus from Homer's Odyssey.**

 **Mesopotamia*: I chose Mesopotamia because the first known story about mermaids is found in Assyria.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 l Origins**

 **ooo**

Darbevynne goved with a longing gaze upwards to the surface, the dark waters shrouded by the looming shadow of a ship.

A dry, expressionless smile graced her black-plagued lips and her sole orb of gold drifted to her swollen stomach.

With an idle flutter, her tail swayed, the torn fins grazing the bones and skeletons that moulded her monstrous seat.

Oh, yes; those spines and those skulls and those frail limbs belonged to her dead meals, those lovely tars who used to brave the sea. All these men, some were old geezers with grey eyes and others were scarlet-cheeked sailors with a fire burning in their souls, they had all met her unmerciful hunger, once they made the bold decision of ploughing her waves.

She had transformed into a creature of indescribable beauty, her body seductive, her face jolly, her voice bearing an otherworldly essence. She had dared them to approach, her serenades lulling them, her smiles captivating them as she drove them into the depths. It was too late to return to their ship, as her gluttonous fingers roamed their bodies, her cold itching to feel the warmth of a human. The first victims of her famished teeth were their legs and arms. And completely immobile as they were, frightened eyes watched and huge mouths wept and cried, as the gorgeous beauty had turned into an ugly, horrid beast who laughed and cackled with a wicked mania. Darbevynne welcomed with rouged cheeks the seed of a handsome, black-haired youth, the same youth welcoming the blood and water with a purple-painted face; with one last vile grin, the siren continued suffocating him by flooding his lungs with more and more saltwater.

Here she was now, crowning herself a Queen, as she sat arrogantly on her throne of the numerous, chalk-white carcasses whose flesh had been so deliriously devoured.

"Oh, my asthore *****! If only you could look on that little ship with your little eyes! I hoped one day you would as your sisters had done, yet it seems the doom chases after me!" she playfully/grimly sang to her unborn child, pale arms circling lovingly a pale belly.

Her grief was caused by the abominable murder of her daughters; for days on end she mourned and cried for her beautiful monsters, wishing they'd return and bearing each one of those gallants of the shore.

Her madness, however, was sparked by the death of her sweet Yui. She had lamented for her too, but soon a lunatic laughter had taken the place of her tearful fury. With that hysteric noise stemming from her mouth in a seemingly evergreen chant, the other beings that shared her dwelling abandoned her, leaving her all alone to drown in her own paranoia.

She had it coming- Yui, or whatever her name was, she never craved to learn more about the spawn of that woman.

* * *

She who was a devious thing with a mesmerising trill and him who was curious, yet fearful of the land. They had created a web, an intricate game of strings and foam and waves and Darbevynne lied in the centre of their tangled affections. From her, she inherited her graceful voice and from him, his gilded irises.

The three of them lived on their own, her childhood drenched in fine glorious days of sunlight and pretty nights of warmth. During the day, she remained with her mother and during the night, with her beloved father; hidden in the blackened caves, their two bodies were wrapped together and they gazed in the vast void, as her father sang and whistled the lyrical music he heard from the travelling ships on the lively ports.

A human myth spoke of wights with silver coats that glistened under the sun rays. They lived hidden beneath the blue where the unwanted eyes could not see. If a selkie had its shimmering skin forcibly removed, it was doomed to serve their human master, until they find their skin and return to their home undersea.

The tale had horrified the poor girl, tears and screams emitting from her, as her father caged her in his strong arms, laughing away all her worries.

How wrong he was.

He was a daredevil, always searching and aching to learn the world, to touch and to feel all the goods the land produced, There had been times when he brought his daughter to his perpetual trips near the shore, the duo watching with wide eyes and giggling to the celebrations.

Darbevynne grasped to those memories, cherishing their every detail, making herself believe she once had been beautiful; it would be because of her father.

He left, as he did with every daylight; but, he never returned the night.

The pale skin around her eyes had turned red, her sobs silent.

Her mother had her own downfall; in her grief, she forgot to bring happiness to her daughter and only reminded her of her flesh.

She reminded Darbevynne she was a siren, terrorising the merfolk by seducing the maids and then killing them, seducing the human men by swallowing their bodies.

She was no different. Not an exception.

 _"I am a monster. Unlike mermaids, I am horrendous and ugly, thus making it difficult for me to... to..."_

 _"To what, child?"_

 _"... to be loved. To be loved for anything but my beauty."_

A poem she had learned by heart.

Years went on and on, the changes never ceasing, yet the siren remained with a blank face and red-rimmed eyes.

She wasn't beautiful anymore and for that she was certain.

She became a mother of three hideous, fatherless creatures, Salaya, Moraia and Liya. She never loved them truly, yet she never hated them either; she only wished they were never born in this world. Or in any other world. She warned them every day and every night, the angles that shaped her face growing stricter as the time ran relentless -so did her grief.

And then she met her, Erelyne.

Undines ***** are wondrous creatures, their bodies bearing a smooth flesh and sweet aroma, their glory so spectral they were almost divine. Their beauty was famed in every realm, men with flushed cheeks chasing with an insatiable thirst young maidens who laughed with radiant mirth, as women with sharp gazes hunted voraciously tall lads who appeared bashful in their presence.

But male undines were scarce and thus were found in uncharted regions. The female ones, however, habituated near the broadest pools, where the water pompously showed off its alien glow, as it flowed through rocks and pebbles, its chirping sounds joyfully playing with an eerie colour.

Apart from their fascinating physiques, they were often sought for their prophetic powers. Witches and sorcerers who made their waters swirl with an unnatural, aquamarine sheen, as glittering scenes filled with familiar faces slowly surfaced.

Salaya was determined to save her mother from her melancholia; so, she took her to a waterfall where the Undine Erelyne dwelled.

Darbevynne was flooded with awe at the ethereal sight of the beauty. Her hair fell in tousled curls and shrouded her head in a halo of gold. Her eyes a vibrant violet, her lips plump and roseate. And what laugh she had! A heavenly sound left her smiling lips that echoed through the verdant wilderness. And how she danced and sang! Her feet bared and twirling to the rhythm of her angelic serenades, her vocals surpassing even Darbevynne's.

She still remembered how Erelyne had approached her, with the mystifying sway of her hips evident through that flimsy chiton she wore.

They became lovers quickly, sometimes meeting by the riverbank, sometimes under the sea, Erelyne turning into a mermaid.

Their days were drenched in sunlight, the nights bathed in heat beneath the watchful Moon. The Undine fixed protective charms for her and her daughters and the siren repaid her by gifting Erelyne with seaweeds and corals and everything she could use for her spells.

She swore the time spent with the Undine was the time she had been beautiful. She remembers not an ugly face, but a mouth that smiled broadly and cheeks that were ablaze with glee. When she thought of Erelyne, she thought a siren that could have been a mermaid once.

As happy as Darbevynne was, depression continued to cloud her thoughts, even if her sole source of brilliance had been the smiles of the enchanting sorceress. Erelyne too had noticed one night how cold her lover's touch had been, her own hands unable to warm her anymore.

" _Love, speak to me of your troubles"_ , the kind creature had inquired. She didn't have to question though; she could have read the rough lines of her palms.

Ultimately, the Undine did read her hands, when she had received no answer.

Her poor lover, still a child prancing after her father.

 _"Do you wish to see him, my dear?"_

No words, just the quiver of her lips and the nod of her head were enough.

A bath beneath the pristine waters of her waterfalls; to be cleansed and pure.

Three tears, followed by the echo of her beloved father's name.

An offer to the Blue Moon, a part of her beloved's.

 _"Give me your eye! You share nought but this shimmering gold, so please, may it be your eye that you offer!"_ , demanded the Undine in a voice filled with childish mischief, of woodland faerie.

Speechless, Darbevynne watched the waters growing from crystal-blue to aquamarine, the foam and bubbles rising from the depths, slithering and circling her with an ominous charm, their constant _'pop'_ boiling the fear within her.

With a careless nod of her head, the siren watched silently as twin streaks of blue were emitted from the Undine's dainty fingers, that slowly plastered themselves on a bony cheek. Like gluttonous tongues and bloodthirsty claws, the streaks seemed like tiny predators that starved for the golden orb. They had sucked all the air from her lungs as they gorged with a sadistic delight the eyeball, the action causing her body to ache.

The Undine welcomed the gold with a graceful smile and her chantings reached their crescendo with a deafening eruption stemming from the dim waters. Cutting through the darkness and rising from the white foam, an image as clear as a diamond had risen, an image that haunted her to this day.

It pictured a brown-skinned man with skeletal limbs and a thick, white beard that reached his knees. She was appalled by the ugliness of his wrinkles, the worn-out clothing that made her eye sting, the fact that he could escape from the chains in his ankles, yet seemed indifferent.

Tears had dusted her lashes and Darbevynne had almost allowed herself to shriek; until she saw the man's smile.

His mouth was faded and chapped and ached for water, yet the corners of his lips created the most pleasant creases on his sun-kissed cheekbones. The kindness and gentleness it emitted were contagious and soon, the fearsome beast found herself grinning beneath her sobs.

 _"Oh, father..."_ she had crooned with a sombre gaze, her fingers chasing after the tainted water.

His eyes too, the same colour she possessed, hadn't lost their luminosity, their honeyed rays calling, screaming, begging for her embrace.

How pitiful he looked in those filthy, verdant fabric and that meek posture he was sporting. Amongst the sea of brown-skinned men with the wrinkled faces, he was merely just one more slave, a weak human whom other humans dressed in affluent porphyra ***** looked down upon.

At last, the shriek that had moulded into a lump was finally expressed, blood, tears and grey matter flowing in the wind she had sparked and it had caused the serene environment to crumble in pieces.

 _"How dare you! That man cannot be my father!"_

 _"That is indeed him."_

 _"You liar! I remember how my father looked and that dreadful, old thing was not him!"_

 _"I am never wrong."_

Erelyne's melodic voice was firm and did not waver once as the other trembled uncontrollably in the water, her claws and bony knuckles curling, itching to strangle her. Her movements kept their grace and serenity, yet followed after the solidity of her mind as the glowing streaks streamed from her fingers, snaking the growling siren's wrists and muffling her mouth, careful of the sharp fangs. She resisted her prison, her protesting vigorous causing droplets and small waves to drench the brilliant prophet. The streaks continued smothering her, looping tightly her body and almost choking her; like a lash, the steaks whipped repeatedly her rear side with searing strength, the siren letting one last yelp before falling into darkness.

* * *

Darbevynne cackled, in her frenzy the tail fluttering against the skulls, effortlessly smashing them into white dust that flowed along with the water.

She was wrapped in the sickening beauty of the dark, which with its acid it had embraced her, lavished her, blackened her, destroyed her. She was horrible and hideous; the most repulsive siren in the whole, wide ocean! -she cackled again at that. The humans called her sinful, atrocious, ghastly and she showered in their compliments. She-

A flickering whiteness appeared from above, followed by silent eruptions like bubbles boiling and combusting.

Her mouth moulded into a furious snarl that growled with a grey foam. Curiously, she turned upwards, chasing after the moving whiteness.

She faltered- blue streaks, twin blue-coated snakes that seemed sinisterly familiar shimmering through the blinding white. Like an Aphrodite Anadyomene, a beauty was born from the white and the blue, her tailed figure emerging airily from the thick foam.

Darbevynne gasped, limbs quivering at the sight of her lost daughter.

"Yui..."

The approaching spectre fluttered closer to her, her naive face possessed by the serenity of that woman.

"You...!" she snarled, yet made no move to attack.

Her eyes were glowing, her lips not smiling, but not frowning either, her brows showing no creases of exhaustion. Just like her mother, Yui was beautiful and graceful and everything that witch was.

"I see you're with child again, mother. How will you name her?"

"Go away... Go away you filthy ghost, go back to where you belong!"

A sweeter, most sensitive side of Yui appeared and a crooked grin of wickedness formed on the siren's lips.

"And where is that where I belong, mother?" there was spite laced in the last word, the girl folding her hands on her bosom, her head tilting.

"With your parents!" through gritted, rotten teeth she responded, her sole pupil contracting and dilating under the spell of her anger.

"Were you the one who killed them?"

She laughed maniacally again, baring her fangs, "I remember it as if it happened yesterday. Your mother begging on the ground and that worthless father of yours doing nothing...!"

"Do not call my father worthless!"

"Oh, really? Why, could you tell me what he did, then? He only lied there, bleeding and then what? And that mother of yours screamed at me as if that would have saved her."

"My-my father... What had you done to him?"

"Oh, to him? Nothing! It was all in the name of Fate!"

"But... why? Why did you do it? Why?"

* * *

She loved him.

His steady voice, his strong eyes. He was huge, much bigger than her and he emitted such warmth, Darbevynne thought he could burn her skin.

Mershra was a leader, a mighty one. No, he was no king or of noble blood, only a mere merman. He inspired others. They obeyed him, listened to him. He was a guardian who protected, who saved.

She watched from the distance, shrouded by the shadows. The siren trailed after him and his men as they had gone hunting for the essentials, food and jewels and medicine.

 _"Who's there?"_

Had he sensed her presence? Smelled her odour of the dead? Seen her horrid face? She ran away, tail fluttering with all the speed she was capable of mustering.

But he was faster, stronger; she would soon be caught.

Exploiting her expertise in the shadows and caves, Darbevynne hid in a dark cavern, as a tail approached her at a slower pace.

 _"W-Who are you and How did you get here? Didn't I-"_

 _"-I-I'm-"_

 _"- say that all the women remain behind! Unless..." his eyes slanted in suspicion, his body inching closer, "you don't happen to be a Huntress, aren't you?"_

Oh. He thought she was a mermaid.

And thus, the siren showed a smirk, broad enough to stretch over her eyes with malevolence; her first smile of madness.

In the blink of an eye, she was a beautiful creature, glowing with the power of a thousand suns. Her dark hair was a lustrous raven, a long fringe shrouding the socket that lacked an eyeball, as her remaining one shone a honeyed gold. Her skin was fair, but not pale and sick, brown freckles dusting the flesh here and there. The body and tail weren't starved and skeletal anymore, but lithe with healthy curves in place of the harsh edges, her waistline wide and her tail strong.

 _"Ah, so you say?"_ her voice deepened in an alluring tone, the one she used especially for her men from above, _"And what did ever make it seem such, bold merman?"  
_

Hunters and Huntresses were an elite group of warriors. Legends say the most ancient of merfolk had inherited the art of magic from the Gods and thus, they transmitted their knowledge to the youth that possessed the potential of using magic for pure means. At the present, following the perils of the surface and the man's newfound love for discovering, Hunters and Huntresses had taken the role of the elect team that protected the wights beneath the waters, from sirens to little, pied schools of fish; no one, no matter how evil or good, deserved not to suffer from extinction.

 _"There's a buccaneer ship approaching upwards"_ , his fist tightened on his spear, _"If you have no other business here at such an hour, I advise you return to your tribe, woman. Shall I get one of my men to escort you home safe?"_

She laughed a giggle that was deep and womanly, _"My, aren't you kind! Or, is it that you're trying to make me leave?"_ she pouted in mockery, causing the man to growl.

 _"It is for your safety; your own and your kind's. Do you know how many mermaids have been found dead near these waters?"_

 _"Oh, but those boys with their hooks and their harpoons don't frighten me!"_

 _"I'm not referring only to the Buccaneers, woman. There have been sightings of sirens threatening the lives of our women."_

 _'Is that so? How interesting...'_

 _"Neither do these awful wrenches."_ she tilted her head, smile widening and eyelids falling, _"Since you mermen got things to do I shouldn't bother you no more. Say, why don't you give your boys something to do, while they wait for you to return?"_

 _"And I shall be returning from where exactly?"_

 _"From taking me home, of course, silly!"_

The rest was history; Darbevynne had discovered a cave near the mers' population which she had addressed as her home and Mershra would often visit her. During the day, she would leave to hunt and the night she would return -or, most accurately a mermaid returned in her place, the ugly beast lurking under red lips.

It had begun as playful trysts under the moonlight, two, tailed bodies laying on a bed of corals, embracing; perhaps that was when her feelings took an interesting turn. She started longing for him, not solely as a companion in intimacy, but in an emotional manner. A warmth nestled in her belly every time he was near her, enveloping her as it exploded within her chest and when he would leave, the warmth abandoned her as well, leaving behind a bitter cold.

 _"Say, if I was as horrendous as a siren... would you stop coming to me?"_ she had whispered to him one evening as she laid her head in his chest.

 _"Yes"_ , he had stated firmly and surely, _"Sirens are dangerous creatures. Very cruel."_

 _"Oh, but I meant not in deeds, but in beauty."_

 _"Beauty is a perception. But still, a siren is a siren."_

A heavy burden weighted down her shoulders, her insides twisting; his words harpooned through her heart.

 _"You should leave."_

And he did. And she left her hiding place, as well.

Time passed -it had been so long; she had borne two daughters- until she thought of wandering again near the merfolk's premises.

Hollow darkness had shadowed the usually colourful sea, no corals or tails to be seen.

The vessel sailed through the unnaturally calm waters of the ocean, its own shadow adding to the blackness.

Silence. No sound stemming nor from the nearby town nor from the pirates upwards. No school of fish no swaying weeds.

Only dark aquamarine, blue streaks of electricity, of magic, weaving through the blue.

A white light had descended into the dark, carried by the streaks; a woman, a beautiful, golden-haired woman whose figure was wrapped in tight clothes.

Erelyne.

In her disbelief, the siren could only stare as more tightly-wrapped women dove into the waters, disturbing their stillness.

Immovable, lonely gold watched as silver glints plunged in the sea, the harpoon chasing after the escaping maidens.

Hunters, mermen had been hiding in the murky caves, but only their leader, Mershra, stood upright, captivated by the bloody calamity.

His spear and shield fell, as he sped towards the Undines, forgetting his fellow soldiers.

But he didn't try to guide them to the safety of the darkness.

His tail fluttered to save only one, dear Erelyne.

She had been harpooned, bleeding from her heart and dying in the pool of her own blood.

Darbevynne was struck by a memory from the past, of how beautiful she and Erelyne had been, but how ugly she truly was.

Mershra was beautiful too, but he knew her secret; he knew of her ugliness.

She had disguised herself with weeds and with the face of an old hag and thus she had approached them.

 _"I will heal her for you..."_

Thankfully, Erelyne had taught her healing spells.

 _"Yes, please, she's my wife, please..."_

 _"...but you must offer me something in return..."_

 _"Yes, whatever that is, yes!"_

 _"Even your firstborn?"_

 _"Yes, yes, everything you want, witch, but please heal her!"_

The deaf fool. Had he listened he could have saved himself.

* * *

"You could have been a great mother", whispered Yui, her hand wiping away her tears.

Despite her madness, she let her lips curl into a genuine smile, the first one she had in centuries.

"Yes, I know."

She turned her head to the throne she made for herself, the shadow of the above ship darkening the glory of the skulls.

Her hand fell on her swollen belly, "Are you going to kill me?"

"...No."

"How unfortunate. I don't care about myself, just this little girl. She shouldn't stain this beautiful world with her ugliness."

One scratch. Two scratches. Three.

Her claws etched in the skin of her belly, deep, red lines bleeding.

"You shouldn't-"

"Or what, Yui?", she snapped her eye to her, watching with broken mirth how the lithe mermaid cowered, "If you can't kill us I'll do it myself."

"Or perhaps you are going to kill me! But you lied to me!" she shrieked, pointing a blood-caked finger to her questioningly, "Why did you lie, Yui? I never raised you to lie."

Yui frowned, "I don't remember you raising me or my sisters at all. If you hadn't been so... so... you could have saved yourself, mother! You could have saved us all!"

"If I hadn't been 'so' what, Yui?"

"So stubborn. You were stuck mourning your merry childhood, you could have moved on! My mother wanted to help you! My father, if you hadn't lie to him, he, too, could have loved you!"

"But he didn't! None of them did! Not my mother, not my daughters, no one! Why did you think my father abandoned us?"

"You could have continued his adventures, following his dreams in his memory! He would have been happy."

Blood streamed down her tail, her bloody fingers scratching her head, tagging hard and plucking tuft after tuft. She screamed. She shrieked. She yelled. The blood fell on her face, like a crown; appropriate for this ugly, mad Queen. Her claws ran deep within her skin, burning the wound of her old eye.

"Stop, stop, you shouldn't-"

"Shut up!"

Darbevynne shouted and lunged at the mermaid, clawing at her skin and aiming for her face.

"An eye for an eye, an eye for an eye...", her macabre crooning.

Yui yelped and resisted, fighting against the strong siren with all her might. She stopped.

Horror muted her throat as sharp claws punctured in her right socket.

She couldn't speak anymore, capable of forming some incoherent syllables when an idea came to mind.

 _"Maiden in the mor ***** lay—in the mor lay—"_, began her hoarse voice, one eye closed, trying to survive the siren's wrath and the other gazing upwards, _"Sevenyst fulle, sevenist fulle_ ".

She cleared her throat, straining her voice to be strong and loud again, _"Maiden in the mor lay—in the mor lay—Sevenistes fulle ant a day"_ , her eye still searched frantically for a mesmerised pirate to descend.

 _"Welle was hire mete—wat was hire mete?"_ , the waters were eerily still, yet she had not lost hope; the pirates would soon come, she had to keep singing, louder, with force, as ethereally as she could, _"The primerole ant the, the primerole ant the—"_

Manic cackles. Her right socket oozed blood, the orb crashed within a bloody fist.

She had to keep singing!

 _"Welle was hire dryng—wat was hire dryng? The chelde water of the, the chelde water of the—"_

A shriek. Finally. Followed by another. she heard the cacophony upwards; she had mesmerised the whole ship.

 _"Welle was hire bour—wat was hire bour?"_ , black shadows fell down the ocean, silver glints in their hands.

* * *

 **A/N: That was a hella chapter to write. Had major enlightenment this morning so I rewrote the whole thing.  
**

 ***asthore: Irish Gaelic word that means "darling". It stems from the Gaelic _stōr_ , "treasure."**

 ***Undines: Mostly described as female, undines are creatures similar to water nymphs that are found near bodies of water, such as waterfalls and lakes. Famous examples: "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen and the play "Pelléas and Mélisande"** **by Maurice Maeterlinck.**

 ***porphyra: The Greek word for Tyrian purple.**

 ***'Maiden in the mor lay': A Middle English song** **. I couldn't find the translation, but I encourage you to listen to it, it's beautiful.**

 **Does that poem in the begging ring any bells?**


End file.
